Does the Bible condemn lesbianism or homosexuality as a sin in Romans 1:26-27 when Paul states,
"For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature?"

Homosexuality Is Not a Sin

Homosexuality Is a Sin

Paul states in Rom. 1:26 ESV, "For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature. . . ." In this passage, the Greek word that is translated as "natural" is φυσικός or fusikos and it means "natural, native" or "in the order of nature, natural, physical," according to An Intermediate Greek-English Lexicon.1 Similarly, Strong's Concordance translates φυσικός as "'physical', that is, (by implication) instinctive: - natural."2Thus, it appears that the woman engaged in sexual activities that were not conducive to their "natural" purpose, which one can assume is procreation.

Paul states in Rom. 1:26 ESV, "For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature. . . ." The phrase "natural relations" in the KJV or "natural use" in the ESV has puzzled Christians for years. Φυσικός or fusikos is the ancient Greek word that is translated as "natural" in the passage, and it is defined in An Intermediate Greek-English Lexicon as "natural, native" or "in the order of nature, natural, physical."1 Moreover, Strong's Concordance translates φυσικός as "'physical', that is, (by implication) instinctive: - natural."2

Χρῆσις or chrēsis is the ancient Greek word that is translated as "relations," "use," or a similar word, depending on the Bible version you read, and χρῆσις means "employment, that is, (specifically) sexual intercourse (as an occupation of the body): - use" according to Strong's Concordance and "a using, employment, use made of a thing" according to An Intermediate Greek-English Lexicon.3 Obviously, men's and women's "natural use" or "natural relations" is for procreation, or else the human race would cease to exist. The story of Adam and Eve makes this concept obvious.

According to Rom. 1:26-27, men and women "changed" (ESV) or "exchanged" (KJV) their "natural relations" (ESV) or "use" (KJV). The Greek word translated as "changed" or "exchanged" is μεταλλάσσω or metallassō, and it means "exchange; alter; undergo a change," according to the Pocket Oxford Classical Greek Dictionary, "to exchange: - change," according to Strong's Concordance, and "I. to change, alter: II. exchange, 1. to take in exchange, adopt, assume; 2. to exchange by leaving, to quit; III. to undergo a change," according to An Intermediate Greek-English Lexicon.3

If the women "changed" or "exchanged" their sexual behavior, then they had to have been heterosexuals who used to practice "natural relations" with men, but who were now experimenting with homosexual behavior and deviant sexual intercourse, which is a different kind of behavior compared to their past sexual behavior. Thus, Paul must have been describing heterosexual individuals indulging in deviant sexual intercourse, which commonly happened in Roman orgies.

In Rom. 1:26-27, Paul states that the men and women "changed" (ESV) or "exchanged" (KJV) their "natural use." The Greek word translated as "changed" or "exchanged" is μεταλλάσσω or metallassō, and it means "exchange; alter; undergo a change," according to the Pocket Oxford Classical Greek Dictionary and "to exchange: - change," according to Strong's Concordance, and "I. to change, alter: II. exchange, 1. to take in exchange, adopt, assume; 2. to exchange by leaving, to quit; III. to undergo a change," according to An Intermediate Greek-English Lexicon.4

We know that the men and women in Rom. 1:26-27 had "changed" their natural sexual use for that which is unnatural. The verb "change" means: "to make the form, nature, content, future course, etc., of (something) different from what it is or from what it would be if left alone."5 The verb μεταλλάσσω basically means to change from one state to another (i.e., to change, alter, exchange).